Zombiepalooza radio recently did a five-hour show (!) dedicated to my latest anthology BAKER STREET IRREGULARS. It was great fun, and we took in questions from viewers and had a lot of laughs.

I was the main guest for the first hour, but I stuck around for the entire thing since I was the co-editor of the book. Every hour would be another guest author: First there was Jim Avelli, then Keith DeCandido, Jody Lynn Nye, and Ryk Spoor.

We discussed Sherlock, writing, talent, and many other things, with lots of advice for writers (based on what the authors interviewed said they did to prepare a story).

What if Sherlock Holmes had been born in a different body? In a completely different time?

That was the concept behind BAKER STREET IRREGULARS — a new anthology due out on March 21, 2017. (You can pre-order it now!). It contains stories from David Gerrold, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Jody Lynn Nye, Ryk Spoor, Heidi McLaughlin, Gail Z. Martin, Hildy Silverman, and more. It’s co-edited by NY Times Bestselling Author Jonathan Maberry, who also contributes a story.

You’ll find stories with Sherlock as an alien dog, a sex android, a vampire, a female college student, a musician in Beethoven’s orchestra, a monk, a computer simulation, a reality TV show host, a worker in a dystopian future, and a parrot (among other things).

There will be an audio book available around the same time as the book release.

Now we’re looking for stories for the second edition. You are invited to contribute.

Your story must (a) feature a character who clearly has Sherlock Holmes’ personality but is not a traditional detective; (b) not take place in Victorian London; and (c) contain a mystery the character solves in a typical Sherlockian way.

I was thrilled with the number of stories that were submitted for the first book, and sadly had to reject some that were very good but either duplicated an idea in an already-accepted story or which didn’t really have a mystery in there.

If you are interested, please email me first with a short synopsis of your idea. There’s no need for you to spend time writing a story that is similar to one that has already been accepted. Please avoid variations of “Sherlock as a computer program/android” and “Holmes figures out he’s fictional” as those were the most common subjects received for the first book. Use your imagination — there are plenty of possibilities. Sherlock as a singer in a boy band. Sherlock as a Roman soldier. Sherlock as a caveman. Sherlock as an alien crashing at Area 51. Don’t limit yourself.

Include in your email any previous publications (unless I already know you). Stories from first-time authors are considered (and in fact, one was accepted for the previous book).

Note that there is no guarantee your story will be accepted even if you are in the first book. We’ll be looking for a good variety of ideas and styles, and a story that works but doesn’t fit may have to be set aside (but perhaps saved for a future edition).

The stories should be under 8,000 words but exceptions can be made if necessary. Since you will not be paid by the word, there’s no need to pad anything. Take what you need to tell the story and no more, please. We do have a word limit for the book, so if you go too long, it could hurt your chances of acceptance. On the other hand, we’ll always make room for a masterpiece of fiction.

We are not accepting reprints.

The book will be published by Diversion Books. Payment is royalties only. The rights will revert back to you after two years but there is an exception that allows you to have it published by any year-end “Best of” anthologies.

I will be editing an anthology of alternate Sherlock Holmes stories and am looking for submissions.

The idea is to take the iconic (and now public domain) character Sherlock Holmes and twist it in some way: Sherlock as an alien; Sherlock as a woman; Sherlock in the middle ages — let your imagination soar.

I have an agent who is willing to shop this around. In order to interest a major publisher, we’ll need some big names. At this stage, we’re only asking for a story synopsis — that way, you don’t waste time writing a story only to find that we can’t get you a decent pay for it. If a publisher accepts, we will determine the pay and notify you and then you can decide whether to participate.

So I need proposals. Please submit a short synopsis (including the ending) of no more than 400 words, accompanied by your (short) bio and a link to a writing sample. Be sure to mention your previous publishing history.

Note: If we cannot interest a major publisher, my current publisher Double Dragon will accept the anthology. With Double Dragon, the only pay will be from royalties (no advances or guaranteed payments).

Like this:

“Bloodsuckers is a delicious blend of mainstream thriller, oddball horror, and biting social commentary. Sink your teeth into this one!” – Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero and V-Wars